Top 10 Victories, Three Steps to Persuade, Police Reform and More

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Too Young to Test: Given their age, skills and abilities, it is unreasonable and inappropriate to administer standardized tests to students in prekindergarten through grade two. Federal law does not require such tests until the third grade, yet many school systems are ignoring the best interests of children, parents and teachers. The Too Young to Test Act puts a stop to it.

Top Ten Legislative Victories of 2014: Over the past year, legislative efforts to advance economic and social justice were thoroughly frustrated by right wingers in Congress. Yet there were true progressive victories in states and localities across America. Read about the Top Ten Victories of 2014 on IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Three Steps to Persuade: Wednesday, January 14 @3:00pm Eastern, 2:00pm Central, 1:00pm Mountain, noon Pacific. Behavioral science tells us that persuasion is hard. When deciding whether to agree with you, people rely on emotion and ingrained beliefs far more than facts. This webinar explores the science and describes three rules that help you break through stereotypes and persuade by focusing on the listener’s values and interests. Register here to participate.

Ideas for Police Reform: Every state, as well as every city, county and town that controls a police force, should be reassessing their law enforcement procedures. This short paper links to six different police reform model bills and ten other models to improve other aspects of public safety.

Twenty different Local Progress policy briefs: Written by Center for Popular Democracy for Local Progress, these 20 policy briefs do a terrific job explaining a wide variety of municipal issues.